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The Role Of Microfinance In Women Empowerment

CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION & RESEARCH DESIGN

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Introduction & Research Design


INTRODUCTION Micro finance is a broad term that includes deposits, loans payment services and insurance to poor people in rural area. In general this concept is understood as providing poor families with small loans to help them to engage in productive activities or expand their tiny business. Microfinance programmers in India are become very powerful instrument in poverty alleviation and women empowerment Women constitute half of the world`s population, perform nearly two thirds of its work hours but receive only one-tenth of income and own one-hundredth of property. They are vital part of the Indian economy, constituting one third of the national labor force and forming a major contributor to the survival of family. About 89% of total female labor is involved in agriculture and allied sectors. Women have extensive work load with dual responsibility of farming in general and house hold production in particular in areas. Microfinance is a broad term that includes deposits, loans, payment services and insurance to poor. In general this concept is understood as providing poor families with small loans to help them to engage in productive activities or expand their tiny business. Microfinance programmes in India are becoming a powerful instrument in poverty alleviation and SHGs women empowerment. It has empowered both socially and economically. These microfinance interventions helped the poor women in maintaining and improving their live hood. Among various schemes and projects of government the financial assistance by microfinance institutions has been considered as a potential means of alleviating scale unemployment, especially in rural areas. And also the main objective of microfinance institutions is support for poor women entrepreneur and also to provide assistance for the development of the new women entrepreneurs. An attempt is made in this project to analysis the role of microfinance by MFIs in the empowerment of SHGs women.
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Empowerment of rural has emerged as an important issue in recent times. The economic empowerment of rural is being regarded these days as a Sine-quo-non of progress for a country; hence, the issue of economic empowerment of rural is of paramount importance to political thinkers, social scientists and reformers. The Self Help Groups (SHGs) have paved the way for economic independence of rural. The members of SHGs are involved in Micro Entrepreneurships. Through that, they are becoming economically independent and providing employment opportunities to others. Economic empowerment of rural leads to development of family and community. This statement is proved by a collective Micro Entrepreneurship in rural place through development.

Statement of the Problem:


A significant development in recent years has been the mushrooming of community based organizations as SHGs and initiatives at the local level for women. Reports indicates that MFIs programmes, often in the form of savings and credit or microfinance schemes have successes in changing the lives of poor women in SHGs, enhancing incomes and generating positive externalities such as increased self help group self-esteem. But still these programs are not reaching the women up to the mark therefore the present study is focused on finding out the advantages and challenges faced by the women as well as the SHGs in reaching them.

Objectives of the study:


1. To study the role of SHGs in empowering women 2. To study the economic gains derived by the members after joining the SHGs 3. To study and examine the social benefits derived from the members 4. To study the satisfaction of the women from the performance of SHGs 5. To offer suitable suggestions to the problems encountered during the study

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Scope of study:
The study is restricted to bring facts of microfinance helps in the SHGs in shivamogga district. The study is focused only on selected SHGs like

Methodology of Data Collection Primary data:


Primary data presumes to be original in character. In this study the primary data is collected from rural small entrepreneurs with the help of simple structured questionnaire.

Secondary data:
Secondary data are already recorded by someone, in this study the secondary data is collected from various MFIs publishments, CRISIL reports, books from the library and E-sources.

Sampling:
Random sampling has been used in this survey. Sample size of 50 was taken. The respondents were given various questions to answer in the form of Questionnaires.

Sampling population:
In this study the population is the rural people`s, who were assistance taken by MFIs.

Sampling unit:
The sampling units is the rural population who taken assistance by MFIs of shivamogga that may be different parts of the shivamogga district.

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Sample size:
The population being carried out among 50 respondents. They were the rural area people of shivamogga.

Statistical tools used for data analysis:


Data were collected from the respondents by way of administering questionnaire. A Structured questionnaire, with a set of 21 questions, was prepared for eliciting Information from the respondents, and Hypothesis chi-square test has been used generally means a proportion or a set of propositions set forth as an Explanation of the project report. In this report to interpret chi-square test has been used.

Limitations of Study
Because of time constraint the present study has not covered all the members of SHGs. And also the study is only considered 4 SHGs operating in Shivamogga city.

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Chapter scheme
Chapter-1 The first chapter is the introduction chapter. It contains Introduction, Statement of the problem, Objectives of the study, Need and Scope of the study, and Data Collection and Chapter scheme, limitations of the study. Chapter-2 The second chapter gives insights into the micro finance Industry profile. Chapter-3 The third chapter gives insights into the micro finance and empowerment literature review. Chapter-4 The fifth chapter states the Analysis and interpretation of data. In this chapter the collected data are analyzed with the help of hypothetical and statistical tools and interpretations are made. Chapter-5 The sixth chapter contains findings, suggestions and conclusion inferred from the study.

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CHAPTER-2

MICROFINANCE INDUSTRY IN INDIA

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Chapter-2

Microfinance industry in India Introduction


DEFNITION OF MICROFINANCE Microfinance is the supply of small loans and other financial services to people with a low income that would otherwise have no access to credit from traditional banks and financial institutions. Microfinance is seen by some as a viable solution to reduce poverty, enabling those at the Bottom of the Pyramid to reshape their destiny.

Microfinance basically consists of offering small loans to poor working people of developing countries, who carrying out their daily business activities, are able to repay their debts at the end of a fixed period, usually a day or a week. The value of the loans generally ranges from 1$ to a maximum of 200$. The money is lent from local organizations, so called Microfinance Institutions (MFI), when certain conditions are met. The concept of microfinance when applied to insurance services takes the name of Micro insurance.

Origin of microfinance, brief history The history of microfinance goes back to 1974 when Professor of Economics at University of Chittagong, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, with the intent of finding a practical solution to poverty, experienced the first microfinance attempt himself. During a visit to a rural village in Bangladesh, he lent 27$ to a community of 42 people who were otherwise unable to make out a living.

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The result was that those people were able to invest that amount in their small woodwork business, sell their products, buy food and other basic stuff and give to the money back to the professor with interest. Inspired by his successful experience and after in-depth studies on the topic, he started a professional micro-financial activity and in 1983 he created the Grameen Rural Bank, the first Microfinance Institution that today accounts for 1 billion $ in loans spread to over 7 millions borrowers. In 2006 professor Yunus has been awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his brilliant methodology. During the 80s and the 90s, after many researches and experiments proving the business viability and profitability of Yunus' concept, microfinance institutions grew constantly in number till topping 3000 in 2006. Most microfinance institutions started their business as non-profit organizations sustained by grants and subsidies, and have been able to turn into for-profit corporations attracting investors globally.

Major banks, attracted by high growth rates, started instituting funds focused on microfinance that allow investors from all over the world to invest in this new industry, movement or Microfinance Channel, as it has been defined by management scholars. THE MICROFINANCE CONCEPT IN MORE DETAIL The concept of microfinance is based on a primary principle holding that most human beings will do their best to be well off, provided they have the required tools. This is one of the reasons, combined with a strict selection of borrowers, why microcredit has the highest repayment rate if compared to all other form of loans issued by traditional banks. Unfortunately, studies demonstrated that microfinance cannot work everywhere and not everybody is a good candidate for microcredit. In order to be useful and successful for the borrower while viable and profitable for an institution, the following microfinance conditions must be met.

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1. Developing or third world economies. Microfinance is characterized by lowamount financial services and that is why it finds application in developing or third world economies. Poor people living in industrialized countries cannot leverage 10$ to grow their small business.

2. A socio-economical environment that offers market opportunities for small craft businesses. The vast majority of microcredit is issued to borrowers who have environmental-friendly craftiness of any sort, such as woodworks, sewing, agriculture, etcthat perfectly fit sustainable development of local small communities. Regions with extremely low density, very poor infrastructures, lack of law and order, or having a large portion of the population affected by diseases are better of with grants or investments in infrastructure and education. In some parts of Africa the economic system is so weak that people would have nothing to do with a small amount of money, especially where barter is still the most common form of trade.

3. The mentality to honestly escape poverty. Values and mentality matter: it is fundamental that borrowers are members of a community that commit to honestly escape poverty. Many studies demonstrated that women, who are currently the largest and most preferred category of microcredit clients, are better loans payers than men because of the care they have for their families well being. Moreover, community pressure put forth by people living in small local communities, such as in villages located in India or Guatemala, helps borrowers to maintain a high level of commitment to repay their debts. If a borrower couldnt pay an installment the other villagers would probably help her. If she would be unwilling to meet her obligations the pressure exerted on her from the other villagers (happy with microcredit) would be too high.

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What is empowerment? Empowerment is defined as the processes by which women take control and ownership of their lives through expansion of their choices. Thus, it is the process of acquiring the ability to make strategic life choices in a context where this ability has previously been denied. The core elements of empowerment have been defined as agency (the ability to define ones goals and act upon them), awareness of gendered power structures, selfesteem and self-confidence (Kabeer 2001). Empowerment can take place at a hierarchy of different levels individual, household, community and societal and is facilitated by providing encouraging factors (e.g., exposure to new activities, which can build capacities) and removing inhibiting factors (e.g., lack of resources and skills). Two vital processes have been identified as important for empowerment. The first is social mobilization and collective agency, as poor Women often lack the basic capabilities and self-confidence to counter and challenge existing disparities and barriers against them. Often, change agents are needed to catalyze social mobilization consciously. Second, the process of social mobilization needs to be accompanied and complemented by economic security. As long as the disadvantaged suffer from economic Deprivation and livelihood insecurity, they will not be in a position to mobilize (UNDP 2001). Three types of empowerment Economic empowerment Womens access to savings and credit gives them a greater economic role in decision-making through their decision about savings and credit. When women control decisions regarding credit and savings, they will optimize their own and the household's welfare. The investment in women's economic activities will improve employment opportunities for women and thus have a 'trickle down and out' effect. The financial sustainability and feminist empowerment paradigms emphasize women's own incomeInstitute of management studies shankarghatta Page 11

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generating activities. In the poverty alleviation paradigm, the emphasis is more on increasing incomes at the household level and the use of loans for consumption. In the feminist empowerment paradigm, individual economic empowerment is seen as dependent on social and political empowerment. Increased well-being Access to savings and credit facilities and women's decision about what is being done with savings and credit strengthens women's say in economic decisions of the household. This enables women to increase expenditure on the well-being of themselves and their children. This is the main concern in the poverty alleviation paradigm. Women's control over decision-making is also seen as benefiting men through preventing leakage of household income to unproductive and harmful. Other welfare. Interventions are advocated in addition to micro-finance, typically nutrition, and health and literacy campaigns to further decrease vulnerability and improve women's skills. In the financial self-sustainability and feminist empowerment paradigms, improved well-being is an assumed outcome from increasing women's economic activities and incomes. Social and political empowerment A combination of women's increased economic activity and control over income resulting from access to micro-finance with improved women's skills, mobility, access to knowledge and support networks. Status within the community is also enhanced. These changes are reinforced by group formation, leading to wider movements for social and political change. The financial self-sustainability paradigm and the poverty alleviation

paradigm assume that social and political empowerment will occur without specific interventions to change gender relations at the household, community or macro-levels. By contrast, the feminist empowerment paradigm advocates explicit strategies for supporting women's ability to protect their individual and collective gender interests at the household, community and macro-levels.

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Brief profile of MFIs Asmitha Microfinance LTD. Asmitha Microfinance Ltd. (AML), an NBFC, began its microfinance operations in 2002; it is one of the top five microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India. In terms of loans outstanding. AML lends to five-members groups of women under the Grameen Bank model, at a flat interest rate of 12.5 percent to 15 percent, and charges an upfront one-time processing fee of 1.15 to 2.50 percent of the loan amount. AML has a strong rural presence. Most of the loans are given for incomegeneration activities; trading and animal husbandry account for about two-thirds of AMLs loans. As of march 31, 2008, AML was present in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra: it has ventured into nine more state during the first half of 2008-2009 (refers to financial year, April 1 to march 31). Grameen Financial Services Pvt. Ltd. Grameen financial services pvt.ltd. (GFSPL) was incorporated in 1991 as sanni collection pvt, ltd: it was acquired by its current management in 2007, GFSPL took over the microfinance programme of T. Muniswappa Trust (TMT, popularly known as grameen koota) grameen koota started its microfinance programme in 1999, with seed capital support from grameen trust Bangladesh. GFSPL lends to ten-member groups under the grameen bank model of lending and offers three different loan product is a 50-week loan with a flat interest rate of 12percent. The MFI charges an upfront fee of 1to3 percent of the loan amount, depending upon the borrower profile (new or repeat) and the loan product. The company also provides health insurance and cattle insurance to its borrowers through tie-ups with reference the insurance companies. As on the September 2008, the MFI had a borrower base of more than 150,000 borrowers across 17 districts of Karnataka. During second half of 2008-09 (refers to financial year, April 1 to march 31), the MFI has expanded its operations to

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Maharashtra and has piloted individual loans in two urban branches at Bangalore and Tumkur. Shri kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development project Established in 1982 by Dr. D Veerendra Heggade, a trustee of the Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala, Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP) is a charitable trust. SKDRDP offers structured products with a focus on livelihood support and asset creation; loans are disbursed to SHGs at an interest rate of 15 percent per annum on a declining method basis. The loan tenure ranges between three and 10 years. Borrowers also have to pay 1 percent of the loan amount towards service charges. As on September 30, 2008, SKDRDP had 22 branches, covering 4,739 villages; 764,351 members (of which 612,482 were borrowers) from 76,662 SHGs. The

microfinance institution has operations in six districts of Karnataka- Udipi, Dakshina Kannada, Shimoga, Chickmagalur, Koorg, and Uttar Kannada. The MFI, which is a nongovernmental organization (NGO), intends to consolidate its operations and plans to attain 1million members by 2010. SKS Microfinance Ltd. SKS Microfinance Ltd. (SKSMPL) is Indias largest Microfinance Institution with a member base of 3 million borrowers as on September 30, 2008. It was incorporated as a private limited company in 2003 for taking over the microfinance activities of Swayam krishi Sangam (SKS), a society that was registered in 1997 and began operations in 1998. After obtaining the non-banking financial company (NBFC) license from the Reserve Bank of India in January 2006, SKSMPL took over the operations of SKS. The companys microfinance operations are spread over 15 states and one union territory as on September 30, 2008. The company follows the group-lending model, which closely resembles Bangladesh-based Grameen Bankss model. While group loans have tenure of 50 weeks, individual loans bear a term of 12 to 24 months. SKSMPL charges an interest rate of
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23.6 per cent on a declining method basis in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and 28 percent in other states. The poor, like the rest of society, need financial products and services to build assets, stabilize consumption and protect themselves against risks microfinance serves as the last-mile bridge to the low-income population excluded from the traditional financial services system and seeks to fill this gap and alleviate poverty. Microfinance loans serve the low income population in multiple ways by: 1) Providing working capital to build business; 2) Infusing credit to smooth cash flow and mitigate irregularity in accessing food, cloth, shelter , or education; and 3) Cushioning the economic impact of shocks such as illness, theft, or natural disasters. Moreover, by providing an alternative to the loan offered by the local moneylender period they priced 60% to 100% annual interest, 2 Microfinance prevents the borrower from remaining trapped in a debt trap which exacerbates poverty. Microfinance loans in India range in size from $ 100 to $ 500 per loan with interest rates typically between 25% and 35% annually. The Microfinance model is designed specifically to help the income population overcome typical challenges such as illiteracy, lack of financial knowledge and deficiency of collateralizable assets. At the same time, the model takes advantage of existing community support systems and networks to encourage financial discipline and ensure high repayment rates.

Microfinance in India an overview


The Indian Microfinance sector presents a strong growth story. Its growth performance was impressively sustained through the liquidity crunch and continued at

an increased rate in the second half of 2009.as of March 2009, the MFIs in India reported a client base of 22.6 million with an outstanding portfolio of more than $2billio0n. 7 over the past five years, the sector has delivered a CAGR of 86% in the number of borrowers and 96% in portfolio outstanding. In the 12 months from march 2008 to march 2009 , the
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Microfinance industry experienced a 59% growth in its client base from 14.2 million to 22.6 million and 52% growth in its portfolio outstanding which increased from $1.5 billion to 2.3 billion. 8 this reflects a 14% of increased in the absolute growth in portfolio outstanding and 33% increase in the absolute growth in the number of borrowers from 2008 to 2009. Year ending 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

31st march Outstanding portfolio millions ) Growth rate Borrowers (millions) Growth rate ------130.00% 113.00% 61.20% 79.80% 59.20% -1 215.00% 96.80% 2.3 4.9 66.10% 7.9 86.30% 14.2 52.80% 22.6 ($ $80 $252 $496 $824 $1,535 $2,346

Source: Microfinance India state of the sector report 2009 These numbers demonstrate the fundamental strength of the industry and the potential it still has to expand. Nonetheless, as presented by the table, the year-on-year growth rate has been declining, illustrating the increasing maturity of the sector. Though decreasing, the growth rate is still high and is reflective of the industry approaching

more sustainable rate of expansion rather than a reversal of the trend observed thus far. As the industry matures, it is also nearing an inflexion point and is considering more sophisticated growth strategies through diversifying product offerings, client targeting and creative financial and non financial solution, which will allow the sector to grow at a continuous pace while preserving its solid performance and abiding by its social mission.

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The Karnataka issue


In the first half of 2010-2011, part of Karnataka was swept by a large number of defaults. The defaults were triggered by a transport strike which hampered the local economy and thus the borrowers ability to repay their existing debts. The repayment problem, which was limited in scale, was escalated into a more widespread and urgent issue by some Muslim community leaders who urged group defaults by citing communal factor. In Mysore, two bouts of communal rioting forced some of the borrowers to temporarily migrate out of the area leading to defaults which eventually escalated into group defaults. While the issues were in fact escalated by communal leaders, there were some underlying issues related to over-lending which were present in each of the area affected. The issue highlights the need for lending and expansion strategies that are more cognizant of the client true financial capacities and risk profiles. From an operational viewpoint, this entails that MFIs expand over variety of geographies and tap varied client profiles. One of the critical ways to achieve greater inclusion is by serving a large segment of the disenfranchised, from the perspective of geographies and client profiles. A more inclusive approach will help MFIs diversity their risk, cushion negative impacts from future crises and ameliorate unhealthy competition in a single area. Moreover, reaching out to untapped markets will limit over-lending to clients in microfinance saturated areas, in turn better serving the MFIs social mission over long run. MFIs coming out of the crisis, have written off their losses. The four to five major MFIs operating in Karnataka are collectively addressing the situation and working even more closely with local administration and the community leaders to resolve the issue. MFIs are making individual efforts at the field level to influence the clients repay. It has been observed that the clients are now being selective and trying to repay to the MFIs who have managed to develop better and strong client relationships.

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Product offering
Thus far, microfinance institutions have largely limited their product and service offering even within the confines of financial inclusion. In fact their product innovation has been limited to credit which is intended to serve a variety of needs as shown by the box below. The limited product innovation is understandable given the sector`s primary focus has been on refining its business model and gaining scale to become financially sustainable. Despite following a single-product model, the sector has experienced remarkable growth can only be expected to continue as product innovation and diversified service offerings attract and retain greater number of customers with variety of needs. Products and purpose 1. Micro-enterprise / Existing products small business loan 2. Agricultural loan 3. Livestock loan 4. General 1. Education loan New /Niche products 2. Housing loan Home home improvement/ new Crop/Farm-related Dairy /poultry Consumption Academic/vocational Working capital /business start-up

The very same clients that the sector currently serves have a plethora of alternate needs for basic products services, financial and non-financial which can affect sustainable, long-term achievements in their quality of life. Fortunately, reorganizing this pent-up demand, mature MFIs are beginning to take concrete steps toward expanding their product basket, at least within the context of financial services.
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Along with credit, MFIs are heavily exploring the possibility of providing savings/deposit services, micro-insurance and remittance services.

Savings
Access to a savings mechanism likes that which is available through commercial banks, is usually held by the microfinance industry to be the most urgent need to enhance the economic security of the poor. Due to RBI regulations, Non -banking microfinance company (NBFC) MFIs cannot currently accept interest-bearing deposits, unless they provide the service through a section 25 business correspondent conduit. This structure prohibits the conduit from charging any fees to execute this function and limits its reach within a limited radius of the bank branch. MFIs are lobbying the RBI to relax these regulations to allow NBFCs to operate as business correspondents, Charge an extra fee for the deposit-taking service and delimit the geographical reach of their operations. These changes would not only make deposits a viable commercial product, but also allow MFIs to offer it to a broader set of clients.

Insurance
While credit can serve to enhance a household`s income, insurance can serve to cushion the negative economic impact in the event of an emergency. Without insurance, a single incident can often impoverish a household, even without insurance; a single incident can often impoverish a household, even with access to micro-credit, especially if the emergency affects the main earning members. A number of MFIs already offer microinsurance products to their clients. The most basic products insure against health and accidental death. Companies such as satin and BASIX usually tie the insurance products to their credit products, which make the availability of credit contingent on the client availing insurance. The rationale behind packaging the loan and insurance together is that often clients do not understand the importance or benefit of insurance until they face an emergency. From a commercial viewpoint, the MFI is in effect insuring its loan against a crisis in the client`s household, since insurance hedges against total financial collapse and
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thus ensures repayment of the loan, albeit in a delayed fashion. Similar to customers, BASIX also links livestock loans to livestock insurance for a similar reason-it cushions the financial blow and increases the likelihood of a successful loan recovery. We can expect the number of insurance products available to increase as MFIs expand beyond their core product and clients become more aware of the benefits of insurance.

Remittance
Domestic labor migration has a long history in India and is on the rise given disparities in growth across statesmigrants need a fast, low-cost, convenient, safe and widely accessible money transfer service. In India, remittance services can be enabled by the provision of savings and thus need to be provided in tie-ups with banks and post offices. In some cases, MFIs provide remittance services by establishing their presence in a migrant destination to channel remittances back to the community in the migrants` area or origin or by establishing a tie-up with another MFI, bank or money transfer company in the area of origin. Going forward, the role of technology will become more important in facilitating the development of alternative channels and payment mechanisms.

Non financial products


Within product offerings, MFIs are considering expanding their activities beyond the realm of financial services since this can provide synergies linked to future expansion. Microfinance client have myriads of unmet needs such as healthcare and education as well as livelihood requirements which can enhances their income, employment potential or quality of life. Given MFIs existing relationships with this population segment, they would be an ideal channel to provide these services. While MFIs may not want to delve into product lines that are fundamentally different from their core business, they could easily act as conduits to allow other agents to deliver these services to their customers. The microfinance industry as a whole is now experimenting with a wide variety of potential models that could be based to deliver non-financial services.

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For example, BASIX offers a host of alternative services to its clients. Beyond the basket of credit and other financial products and services, BASIX also provides low income customers with livelihood services, including agricultural and business development consulting services, to help microfinance clients use their loans more effectively. BASIX offers these alternative services to its clients through different entities housed less than one umbrella. These groups have tremendous synergy and contributes to each other`s growth and prosperity. The credit business enables customer acquisition, while the insurance business mitigates risk, and agricultural and business development service enables customer retention. The consulting and IT business enhances BASIX`s revenues while the social business enable research and development which contribute to BASIX`s strategy development. In addition to livelihood services, several MFIs are examining the feasibility of providing critical basic services to deliver low cost healthcare, education and vocational training. For example, Spandana is currently developing a comprehensive low cost healthcare delivery model focused on the healthcare needs of women and children. BASIX has launched a vocational training academy to impart education in rural development and management to potential job seekers from low income communities. These participants would be deployed in the rural/semi urban areas with BASIX or other organizations offering financial services to the poor. In additional to being important avenues for productive utilization of credit by MFI clients, these types of services have a strong potential to reinforce long-term clients relationships. Most importantly, the evolving delivery model for low cost education and healthcare has similar operational elements as the highly successful microfinance model including efficient distribution, high throughput and Para-skilling of low cost resources to address the last mile inclusion challenge.

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Investment climate
Today, microfinance is gaining prominence as a viable asset class globally, particularly in India. MFIs in India have continued to attract large amounts of capital despite the global economic recession. Currently, its reported that over 100 microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) exist global and India is a focus for many of them due to its large market size, growth capacity, profitable business models and potential development impact. Moreover, mainstream investors are beginning to participate in this sector, pickup larger stakes than the social investors that have been dominant so far. The entrance of mainstream investors is indicative of an industry that is maturing, but is still expected to grow at a high rate. Valuations in the microfinance sector reflect this expectation and surpass that of traditional institutions in the financial services space. Moreover, Indian MFIs trade at significant premia to MFIs in other parts of the world. MFIs across the world face an equity valuation of 1.5 xs to 3.0x books value, whereas Indian MFIs face a valuation that is 3.0xs to 4.0x book value. This premium is driven partly by the generous amounts debt available to the industry to expand which in turn enables MFIs to achieve returns on equity of approximately 20% to 30%. 16 these premium levels are also identical to the premia to book value at which private sector banks and non-banks have traded in the Indian capital markets which have averaged over 3.5x to 4.0x book value throughout the last seven to ten years in the short run, as mainstream investors gain interest in the Indian microfinance industry and infuse larger amounts of capital at higher prices, equity will continue to trade at a premium. A point to note here is that even though the microfinance industry is reaching maturity, the large amounts of untapped geographical territory and client base combined with the MFIs wide network create potential for enormous sustainable growth in the future. As discussed earlier, MFIs and other service providers are beginning to realize the significant value of the network that has been created by MFIs and efforts are underway to utilize them to deliver both, financial and non-financial products and services.
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These factors will continue to impact the supply of equity for Indian microfinance and hence the equity valuations .furthermore, since this untapped demand is unlikely to be satisfied in the short or medium term, while valuations will be tempered by cautious investors, premia driven by fundamental growth expectations can be expected to prevail through the short and medium term as MFIs re-engineer their strategies to take advantages of the unsatisfied microloan demand.

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CHAPTER-3

LITERATURE REVIEW

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Literature Review
Women Empowerment Programs S. Shiny Nair discussed in her one of the articles as about women empowerment program in her below articles the empowerment of women is one of the central issues in the process of development of countries all over the world. Tamil Nadu has a glorious tradition of recognizing the importance of empowering women over several centuries. The present paper is based on womens empowerment programs and its implementation and utilizations. The paper concludes the details of womans empowerment in some specific challenges faced by the women according to the effective utilization of empowerment program. Empowering women is a prerequisite for creating a good nation, when women are empowered, society with stability is assured. Empowerment of women is essential as their value systems lead to the development of a good family, good society and ultimately good nation. - Dr.A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Empowerment is the One of the key factors in determining the success of development is the status and Position of women in the society. This means that the neglect of women in the envelopment process of any country constitutes a human resource waste. Therefore, should be that of moving steadily and firmly in the direction of economic development by involving women. True development means the development in the three categories of a woman. These are Individual, social, and economic development. Individual development means increased skills and capability, greater freedom, creativity, self-discipline, responsibility and material well being. IN THIS article womens Understanding power is more when at the core of the concept of empowerment is the idea of power. The possibility of empowerment depends on two things. First, empowerment requires that power can change. If power cannot change, if it is inherent in positions or people, then empowerment is not possible, nor is empowerment conceivable in any meaningful way.
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What is women's empowerment? Women's empowerment is not a Northern concept. Women all over the world, including countries in the South, have been challenging and changing gender inequalities since the beginnings of history. Women's empowerment has five components: women's sense of self-worth; their right to have and to determine choices; their right to have access to opportunities and resources; their right to have the power to control their own lives, both within and outside the home; And their ability to influence the direction of social change to create a more just social and economic order, nationally and internationally. Women Empowerment & Social development This articles is presented by Mrs. Dr. Jelsy Joseph she analysis the women empowerment & social development in India as per discussed in this articles India has also ratified various international conventions and human rights instruments committing to secure equal rights of women. He Constitution not only grants equality to women, but also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favor of women. Womens empowerment is an important agenda in the development efforts. There has been significant shift in approach of the district administration towards the development of women, especially the poor & the illiterate. When you train a woman, you help the entire family, the village and the nation. The current paper focuses on womens empowerment in the domestic sphere. So Empowerment of women that will have lasting impacts must involve consciousness raising before the social construction of gender, which subordinates women in the family, class, caste, religion, or society, can be changed. The economic empowerment approach has relied on improving women's control over economic resources and strengthening women's economic security.

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EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN Empowerment is a multi-faceted, multi-dimensional and multi-layered concept. Womens empowerment is a process in which women gain greater share of control over resources - material, human and intellectual like knowledge, information, ideas and financial resources like money - and access to money and control over decision-making in the home, community, society and nation, and to gain `power'. According to the Country Report of Government of India, "Empowerment means moving from a position of enforced powerlessness to one of power". EDUCATION OF WOMEN Education to women is the most powerful instrument of changing their position the society. Education also brings about reduction in inequalities and also acts as a means to improve their status within the family. In order to encourage education of women at all levels and so there is a provision and acquaintance of education, schools, colleges and even universities were established exclusively for women. To bring more girl children, especially from marginalized BPL families, into the main stream of education, Government has been providing a package of concessions in the form of free supply of books, uniform, boarding and lodging, clothing for hostilities, mid-day meals, scholarships, free by-cycles and so on. Women can play a major role in conservation and restoration of the environment. Rural women use unconventional and nature friendly

source of energy in the form of animal dung, crop waste and fuel wood.

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Womens Empowerment Raghavendra Bhatt in his article women`s empowerment that how they empowered by themselves in India discussed that Women constitute almost 50% of the world's population. As per as their social status is concerned, they are not treated as equal to men in all the places. A person may said to be powerful when he/she has control over a large portion of power resources in society. The extent of possession of various resources such as personal wealth, such as land skills, education, information, knowledge, social status, position held, leadership trains, capabilities of mobilization. It is now widely believed that empowerment of women i.e., providing equal rights, opportunities and responsibilities to women will go a long way in removing the existing gender discrimination. Women empowerment in contemporary Indian society in forms of their work, education, health and media images in the forms of their work, education, health and media images in the context of lineage, rule of residence and household. Before thinking about the empowerment of women, one needs to understand the exact meaning of the word empowerment. According to Cambridge English Dictionary empowerment means "to authorize". In the context of the people they have to be authorized to have control over their lives. When applied in the context of development the particular segment of population, the poor, the women, the vulnerable, the weak, the oppressed and the discriminated have to be "empowered" to have control over their lives to better their socioeconomic and political conditions,. Women`s empowerment in contemporary India Contemporary Indian society has been exposed to the broad processes of social transformation, agricultural modernization and economic development, urbanization and globalization. However, these processes have generated regional imbalances, sharpened class inequalities and augmented the gender disparities. Hence, women have become critical symbols of these growing imbalances. All these have affected adversely the various aspects of women's empowerment in the contemporary Indian society. The

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family and women's work is not enough to say that any society consists of men and women. Role of Microfinance for Promoting Integrated Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation Role of Microfinance for Promoting Integrated Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation By Raja Shekar as In His Articles he discussed that The concept and role of micro financing is well known for social upliftment as well as for the development of rural and backward areas. Considerable efforts are being made at the public and private sectors to bring in enough number of technologies in the rural areas for their implementation and use through micro financing for the overall development. However, support of micro financing agencies including banks is not reaching at the grass route levels and therefore, most of the developmental programmers get diluted or ineffective and many a times they dont even take off. In the rural areas people are not much aware about the micro financial schemes and their benefits. Hence, in order to provide sustainable rural development and progressive poverty alleviation the role of micro financing agencies becomes an important in the context of current scenario. In the present communication the whole mechanism of micro finance, its role to achieve sustainable rural development and for social economic benefits are discussed in detail. Economic Empowerment of women Poverty Eradication Since women comprise the majority of the population below the poverty line and are very often in situations of extreme poverty, given the harsh realities of intrahousehold and social discrimination, macroeconomic policies and poverty eradication programmes will specifically address the needs and problems of such women. Micro Credit In order to enhance womens access to credit for consumption and production, the establishment of new and strengthening of existing micro-credit mechanisms and microInstitute of management studies shankarghatta Page 29

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finance institution will be undertaken so that the outreach of credit is enhanced. Other supportive measures would be taken to ensure adequate flow of credit through extant financial institutions and banks, so that all women below poverty line have easy access to credit. Young Women Empowerment Programmes 2008 The Youth Development Trust in its endeavor to respond to this plight has extended its market due to one of its first 2006 Monitoring & Evaluation report finding, which is lack of skills development training opportunities amongst deserving disadvantaged Matriculates and Tertiary drop outs. As a result YDT in partnership with the Embassy of Finland will be implementing programs in Gauteng and the North West to 15 participants per province. YDT offers relevant programs to its constituency, hence research is vital to design programs that directly respond to the challenges and identify opportunities in that particular area or region. Implication and Utilization of Government Programs The empowerment of Rural Women is crucial for the development of the Rural Bharat. Bringing women into the mainstream of development is a major concern for the Government of India, which is why 2001 has been declared as the "Year of Women Empowerment". The Ministry of Rural Development has special components for Women in its programmes and funds are earmarked as "Women's Component" to ensure flow of adequate resources for the same. The major Schemes, having Women's Component, include the Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), the Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana (JGSY), the Indira Awas Yojana (IAY), the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), the Restructured Centrally Rural Sanitation Programme, the Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme, the (erstwhile) Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP), the (erstwhile) Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) and the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY).

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Indian Women: Natural Potential to be an Entrepreneur Priya Dadhich has discussed that she had her analysis of the Indian

Women: Natural Potential to be an Entrepreneur in her whole articles It is general belief in our society that role of women is restricted in four walls of home or you can say women are involved in mainly household activities like cooking and reading. Economy of any country can't boom without contributing women. The growing industrialization, urbanization and social legislation and with the spread of education and awareness women have shifted from kitchen to higher level of professional activities. Today's women are taking more and more professional and technical degrees to cope up with market need. The position of women and their status is any society is an index of its civilization. Women are to be considered as equal partner in the process of development. As technology speeds up lives women are as emerging economic force which cannot be neglected by policy maker. The world's modern democratic economy depends on the participation of both sexes. In many developing countries including India women have much less access to education, jobs, and income then men. Ever after five and half decade of planned development Indian women have not achieved expected success in the mainstream of life. Our country will be unable to have a competitive edge over others until and unless the status and role of women is improved. In Indian context, National level Standing Committee on Women Entrepreneur constituted by the Ministry of Industries The Govt. of India(1984) notes women entrepreneur as "An enterprise owned and controlled by women having a minimum financial interest of 51% of the capital and giving at least 51% of employment generated in the enterprise to women. Problems of women entrepreneurs Women owned business are highly increasing in the economics of almost all countries. The hidden entrepreneurial potential of women has gradually been changing with the growing sensitivity to the role and economic status in the society. Skill, knowledge & adoptability in the business are the main reason for women to emerge in to
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business venture. Women entrepreneurs" is a person who accepts challenging role to meet her personal needs and become economically independent, strong desire to do something positive is an inbuilt quality of entrepreneurial women who is capable of contributing values in both family and social life. Microfinance in India empowering women Rasheeda Bhagat has discussed in his articles about microfinance in India empowering women that could be through microfinance in India Allowing his organization to be very profitable are women like Asiya Begum and her colleagues. Or Ananthamma, a 40-year-old Telugu-speaking maidservant in South Delhi, who was unable to take care of her handicapped son after her husband died. Her father-in-law had a spice business, which was doing well; she took an SKS loan and set up a similar spice business. It flourished, and when it was time for a mid-term loan she bought trinkets and put her son on the job of selling them door-to-door. Now she has two businesses, her son is self-employed, and she has proved that small sums of money can make a big difference to the poor when routed through organized channels. Traditional development theories believed that a high growth rate of the economy would benefit the poor through the so-called trickledown effect. This suggests that, among the poor, both men and women would equally reap the fruits of high economic growth rate. However, this has been belied by actual development and in spite of the various development measures and constitutional legal guarantees women have lagged behind in almost all sectors. Micro Finance is emerging as a powerful instrument for poverty alleviation in the new economy. Micro Finance refers to a collection of banking practices built around providing small loans (typically without collateral) and accepting tiny deposits. In India, micro finance scene is dominated by Self Help Groups (SHGs) Bank Linkage Programme, aimed at providing a cost-effective mechanism for providing financial services to the unreached poor. Based on the philosophy of peer pressure and group savings as collateral substitute, the SHG programme has been successful in not only in
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meeting the peculiar needs of the rural poor, but also in strengthening collective self-help capacities of the poor at the local level, leading to their empowerment. Micro finance for the poor and women has received extensive recognition as a strategy for poverty reduction and for womens economic empowerment. There are good reasons to target women. Gender equality turns out to be good for everybody. Women's Micro-enterprises Considering the entrepreneurial environment, women's activities are very interesting as they offer a great source of knowledge and innovation. For example: there is no single type of female micro-entrepreneur, they differ in social background, educational level, experience and age. Another interesting factor is their strong social coherence that allows them to maintain strong communications-channels at all levels. One important element, and perhaps the only characteristic that men will never have, is the possibility to transfer "motherhood skills" to job. These include fostering of other people's development through guiding, monitoring, and sharing information. Women are experienced in balancing claims, in organizing and pacing, and in handling difficulties. Overview of Microfinance for Women in India N. Kavitha had overview on the microfinance in India in her articles that she mentioned that microfinance approach for women`s in India To most, microfinance means providing very poor families with very small loans to help them engage in productive activities or grow their very small businesses. Like us, many poor people need and use financial services all the time. They save and borrow, invest in home repairs and improvements and meet occasional and domestic expenses such as food and school fees. However, there are some 500 million low income entrepreneurs in the world and about 5% have access to financial services. Indeed, the financial services available to the poor often have serious limitations in terms of cost, risk and convenience. As a result, over time, microfinance has come to include a broader range of services (credit, savings, insurance, etc.) as the industry has come to realize that the poor and the very poor that

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lack access to traditional formal financial institutions require a variety of financial products. Microfinance approach Microfinance approach is based on certain proven truths which are not always recognized. These are: That the poor are bankable; successful initiatives in micro finance demonstrate that there need not be a tradeoff between reaching the poor and profitability - micro finance constitutes a statement that the borrowers are not 'weaker sections' in need of charity, but can be treated as responsible people on business terms for mutual profit That almost all poor households need to save, have the inherent capacity to save small amounts regularly and are willing to save provided they are motivated and facilitated to do so That easy access to credit is more important than cheap subsidized credit which involves lengthy bureaucratic procedures - (some institutions in India are already lending to groups or SHGs at higher rates - this may prevent the groups from enjoying a sufficient margin and rapidly accumulating their own funds, but members continue to borrow at these high rates, even those who can borrow individually from banks) Women can make micro-credit succeed in India: 'India has to understand that micro-finance is workable and sustainable anywhere where there is poverty. And to make it successful, it needs to emphasize and mobilize the role of women in each rural and poor household,' the chief architect of Bangladesh's Grameen Bank told a conference organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). 'India and Bangladesh have no major difference in poverty. If micro-finance or micro-credit is successful in Bangladesh, it can be successful in India as well, 'The Grameen Bank and the work that we do is not something extraordinary and neither is it a model. It is a rather simple way of solving the complex problems of poverty,' the 66-year-old economist said.

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The Impact of Microfinance in women empowerment Dweep Chanana discussed in his one of the articles as about The Impact of Microfinance in women empowerment in his below articles In order to help get some kind of bearing on the impact of microfinance, we present here a short literature review on how microfinance affects the lives of the poor. The selected papers are organized into three categories: the broader context, the impact of microcredit, and the impact of micro savings (surprisingly, there seems to have been more work done on savings than credit). In order to help get some kind of bearing on the impact of microfinance, we present here a short literature review on how microfinance affects the lives of the poor. The selected papers are organized into three categories: the broader context, the impact of microcredit, and the impact of micro savings (surprisingly, there seems to have been more work done on savings than credit). Self-help & enterprise Women have gone into the making and marketing of a range of cottage products pickles, dried fish, organic manure, spices, agarbattis, tailoring, embroidery, etc. Backed by ITCs marketing support, cottage products like agarbattis and chicken embroidery are emerging as profitable rural industries. Many of the micro enterprise opportunities are simple and can be started with little capital, such as broom making, basket making. Other enterprises need more capital and micro financing. The women meet together weekly to learn ways to get their new business started and successful. Concept of Women Empowerment Empowering may be understood as enabling people, especially women to acquire and possess power resources, in order to make decision on their own or resist decisions that are made by others that affect them. A person may said to be powerful when he/she has control over a large portion of power resources in society. The extent of possession of various resources such as personal wealth, such as land skills, education,

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information, knowledge, social status, position held, leadership trains, capabilities of mobilization.

Role of Microfinance in Women Empowerment Nava Ashraf had overview on the Role of microfinance in women empowerment articles that he mentioned that microfinance In the socio-economic paradigm of economic development of the country, women empowerment is a vital constituent. Empowerment is a multi-dimensional process that helps people to have control over their own lives, communities and societies. By generating employment, Micro finance is emerging as a powerful instrument for poverty alleviation, employment generation and empowerment of women folk. In India Microfinance for women is mainly group based assuming that bringing women together in groups will be more empowering than the individual lending. Many successful women forums and organizations are trying to bring rural women together for development of women folk like working womens forum (WWF), self employed womens association (SEWA), shri mahila griha udyog, Mhaswad, Maharasthra etc.According to World Bank report (2007), in India the SHG movement has become the basis for programs promoting empowerment and overall improvement. Although the road to success may be longer with lot many hurdles, but success of microfinance programs doesnt seem to be far if backed by education and training. Also there is much to be done in terms of strengthening womens leadership, their confidence, their bargaining power within and outside their homes and their representation in policy-making and decision-making fora. It is their issues, their priorities and needs which should guide and mould the development process in our country. Toward this end, SEWA has been supporting its members in capacity-building and in developing their own economic organizations. The Self Employed Women's Association. SEWA was born in 1972 as a trade union of self employed women. It grew out of the Textile Labor Association, TLA, India's oldest
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and largest union of textile workers founded in 1920 by women, Anasuya Sarabhai. The inspiration for the union came from Mahatma Gandhi, who led a successful strike of textile workers in 1917. He believed in creating positive organized strength by awakening the consciousness in workers. By developing unity as well as personality, a worker should be able to hold his or her own against tyranny from employers or the state. To develop this strength he believed that a union should cover all aspects of worker's lives both in the factory and at home. Against this background of active involvement in industrial relations, social work and local, state and national politics, the ideological base provided by Mahatma Gandhi and the feminist seeds planted by Anasuya Sarabhai led to the creation by the TLA of their Women's Wing in 1954. Its original purpose was to assist women belonging to households of mill workers and its work was focused largely on training and welfare activities. By 1968, classes in sewing, knitting.

Microfinance and Women's Empowerment Fehmeen Khan`s articles mainly focused on the microfinance and women empowerment as he mentioned that Empowering women through Microfinance is an article that appeared in the December 2007 issue of UNDPs Poverty in Focus. Microfinance gained impetus primarily because it promised the social and economic uplift of women in developing countries across Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Countries in these regions have patriarchal societies that harbor gender-based traditions preventing the liberation of women. For instance, women in rural areas of South Asia are often prohibited from showing their faces in public or from leaving their homes altogether. The lucky ones get to attend a few years of school and as soon as they reach puberty, they are forced to get married. These practices are embedded in regional culture which makes it all the more difficult to implement change. By advancing them credit, microfinance aimed to give women a chance create their own identity and make their own choices. The funds allowed them to generate stable
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streams of income that would help provide food, shelter, clothing, and possibly education for their families. Over time, these women enjoyed a greater role in the economic decision-making of their household, which is an achievement in itself, considering the decades of repressive behavior by The problem pertains to the group-lending methodology initiated by Grameen Bank. One of the benefits of lending to women (through the group-lending methodology) related to the strengthening of relationships with other women in their community. This bond not only serves as a safety net when certain members of the group are pressed financially, but also offers great social value. The other side of the story is rather audacious. Some studies reveal that the main reason women are targeted is because they succumb easily to social pressures exerted through group-lending, and not because they are good money managers. Moreover, some fear that the group lending technique reinforces existing social norms because women are selected after assessing her husband's lifestyle (drinking, gambling, financial status, etc.) Measuring the Impact of Microfinance on Women's Empowerment Given the complexity of defining womens empowerment it is not surprising that only a few empirical studies have tried to examine the impact of microfinance on womens empowerment. For the most part, empirical research on microfinances effect on womens empowerment has been conceptually ungrounded and tends to estimate an over-extended definition of empowerment or a truncated aspect of it. A number of these studies also suffer from methodological bias and flaws. In fact, only a few studies have successfully investigated this impact in a rigorous manner.

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CHAPTER-4

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

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Data Analysis and Interpretation


This chapter deals with the analysis and interpretation of the data. For the purpose of the study data were collected by way of administering questionnaires to the women entrepreneurs and members of SHGs of the study area. Analysis involves organizing the data in a manner, while interpretation is that which explains the facts of figures. Hypothesis generally means a proposition or a set of proposition set forth as an explanation for the occurrence of some specified phenomena either asserted merely as a provisional conjecture to guide some investigation or accepted as highly probable in the light of established facts.

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Table 1: Table Showing Age of the Respondents SLno
1 2 3 4 5

Age
18-25 25-30 35-40 Above 40 Total

Frequency 5 29 16 0 50

Percent 10 58 32 0 100

Source: survey data Figure: 1

Age
5% 29% 50% 1 18-25 2 25-30 3 35-40 16% 4 Above 40 5 Total 0%

Inference:
The age wise classification of the respondents shows that 58% of the respondents are of the age group of 25-30 years. Most of these aged womens are more utilizing the microfinance in SHGs in shivamogga district.

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Table-2 Table showing the educational qualification of the respondents Qualification Number of respondents Matriculation and below Pre-university Any degree Others Total Source: survey data Figure -2
Matriculation and below Pre-university 10% Any degree others

Percentage

23 13 9 5 50

46 26 18 10 100

18%

46%

26%

Inference:
The educational status of respondents indicated that 46% of the respondents were had matriculation and below education and nearly 26% of them had pre-university education followed by 18% had degree and only 10% were educated in different streams in the study area.

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Table-3 Table Showing the Marital status of the respondents Marital status Married Unmarried Total Sources: Survey data Number of respondents 48 2 50 Percentage 96 4 100

Figure: 3
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Married Unmarried Total Showing the Marital status of the respondents Number of respondents Showing the Marital status of the respondents Percentage

Inference:
96% of the respondents were married and the rest of them 4% were unmarried in the study area. This shows that most of beneficiaries are married womens the SHGs concentrating more on married womens.

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Table-5 Table showing the respondents awareness about microfinance Response Yes No Total Sources: Survey data Figure -5 Number of respondents 50 00 50 Percentage 100 -100

100%

Inference:
We can easily came to know that the now a days women population is know about microfinance, that means it has covered 100% .

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Table-6 Table showing the respondents awareness about SHGs and the

Member of these SHGs


percentage SLno. 1 2 3 4 Name of the SHGs Dharmasthala Sangha Swayam krishi Sangha Shtri Shakthi Sangha Mahila Swasahaya Sangha Yes 50 10 20 25 50 40 30 25 No 100% 20% 40% 50%

Sources: Survey data Figure-6


50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Dharmasthala Sangha 1 Swayam krishi Sangha 2 Shtri Shakthi Sangha 3 Mahila Swasahaya Sangha 4

Yes No

Inference:
Most of the women`s respondents are aware about all SHGs in above table, 100% know about dharmasthala sangha, 20% Swayam krishi Sangha, 40% Shtri Shakthi
Sangha, 50% Mahila Swasahaya Sangha, most of the women`s are the members of these SHGs sangha in shivamogga district. Institute of management studies shankarghatta Page 45

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Table: 7 Table Showing the Purpose of taking loan Purpose Starting tiny business Carrying live stock activities Purchasing of durables Educating childrens Total Figure:7
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Number of respondents 25 10 7 8 50 Sources: Survey data

Percentage 50 20 14 16 100

Showing the Purpose of taking loan Number of respondents Showing the Purpose of taking loan Percentage

Inference:
50% of womens were taken loan to start tiny business, 20% of were carrying live stock activities, 14% of were used for purchasing durable commodities for homes and 16% of were using for educating their childrens. This shows that major portion is used for starting business and to engage in economic activity.

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Table-8 Table Showing the Response towards interest rate Respondents
Yes No Total

Number of respondents
39 11 50

Percentage
78 22 100

Sources: survey data Figure-8

80 70 60 50 40 30 Yes No

20
10 0 Number of respondents Percentage

Inference:
It reveals that the major portion of the respondents were comfort with interest rate charged by MFIs that is 78% and 22% of were not adjusted with the interest rates because it costs nearly more than banks.

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Table-9 Table Showing the respondents that social activities undertaken by the SHGs for the women empowerment
SLn o. 1 2 3 4 5 Social activities Dharmasth ala sangha -------10 Swayam krishi sanga ---------20 30
50

Education Training for Tinny business

Shtri Mahila shakthi sanga swasahaya Sangha ---30 38 12 -----50 ------------20 50

Training for Small scale 35 business Savings activities TOTAL and welfare 5 50

Source: survey data Figure:9

50 40 30 20 10 0 Education Training for Training for Savings and Tinny Small scale welfare business business activities 1 2 3 4 total Dharmasthala sangha Swayam krishi sanga Shtri shakthi sanga Mahila swasahaya Sangha

Inference: The above table show that social activities has been undertaken by SHGs through microfinance .the Dharmasthala sangha provide loan for Training for Small scale business at 70%, Swayam krishi Sangha for Savings and welfare activities at 65%, Shtri Shakthi Sangha for Training for Tinny business at 76%, Mahila Swasahaya Sangha for Education at 60% by this way SHGs are provide social activities to empower the women.

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Table-10 Table showing the mode of repayment of loan amount Modes
Daily Weekly Monthly Quarterly Total

Number of respondents
00 48 2 00 50

Percentage
00 96 4 00 100

Sources: survey data Figure -10

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Number of respondents Percentage

Inference:
96% of respondents responded that the weekly repayment mode is best because their incomes were comes in week rather than monthly and daily, and only 4% were told that they pay monthly. That huge percentage responded that it is type of loans is for economic activities and least one responded that they are educational loans.

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Table-11 Table showing the proper usage of loan amount Response Yes No Total Source: survey data Figure -11 Number of respondents 29 21 50 Percentage 58 42 100

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Number of respondents Percentage Yes No Yes No

Inference: 58% of womens were using the loan amount for the suggested need and rest of them was not using the loan amount that is 42%. This shows that the purpose of the MFIs is not reached fully.

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Table-12 Table showing the reason for improper usage Reasons
Poverty Family problems Lack of proper knowledge Others Total Sources: survey data

Number of respondents Percentage


17 11 14 8 50 34 22 28 16 100

Figure -12

50

0
Number of respondents Percentage

Inference:
34% of the respondents responded that they are not using the loan amount for the genuine reason because of the poverty. 28% of were not using properly because of lack of knowledge, 22% from family problems and 16% form other problems. This indicates that clearly SHGs microfinance intention is not satisfied.

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1. Table showing the respondents of the comfortable with the interest rate of the loans given by the SHGs

Performance Strongly agree Agree Neither Agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree Sources: survey data

No of respondents 10 28 10 02 00

1. Calculation of chi-square test for the comfortable with the interest rate of the loans given by the SHGs s this below fig is observed frequency from survey data: O 10 28 10 02 00 E 10 10 10 10 10 O-E 00 18 00 -08 -10 TOTAL Df = (N-1) 5-1=4 5% Significance level of the table value is 9.488 1% Significance level of the table value is 13.277 The calculated chi-square value is more than the table values therefore the null hypotheses is accepted Inference: 56% of the respondents are accepted and agreed the interest rate of the SHGs and the chi-square test is accepted as null hypotheses. (O-E)2 0 324 0 64 64 (O-E)2/E 0 32.4 0 6.4 10 48.8

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2. Table showing the respondents of performance of SHGs is better than banks other institution:

Performance Strongly agree Agree Neither Agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree Source: survey data
2.

No of respondents 10 35 05 00 00

Calculation of chi-square test for the performance of SHGs is better than banks and other institutions this below fig is observed frequency from survey data:

O 10 35 5 0 0

E 10 10 10 10 10

O-E 0 25 -5 -10 -10 TOTAL

(O-E)2 0 625 25 100 100

(O-E)2/E 0 62.5 2.5 10 10 85

Df = (N-1) 5-1=4 5% Significance level of the table value is 9.488 1% Significance level of the table value is 13.277 The calculated chi-square value is more than the table values therefore the null hypotheses is accepted Inference: By survey of 70% of the respondents agree self help groups are better than banks and other institutions. By calculation chi-square test null hypotheses is accepted.

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3. Table showing the respondents of the microfinance is helping the empowerment of women:

Performance Strongly agree Agree Neither Agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree
Sources: survey data

No of respondents 00 50 00 00 00

3. Calculation of chi-square test for the microfinance is helping the empowerment of women this below fig is observed frequency from survey data: Df = (N-1) 5-1=4 5% Significance level of the table value is 9.488 1% Significance level of the table value is 13.277 The calculated chi-square value is more than the table values therefore the null hypotheses is accepted Inference: 100% of the respondents agreed and they accepted microfinance in empowering the women`s through SGHs

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CHAPTER-5

FINDINGS SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

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Findings Suggestions and conclusions


Based on the interaction with the women respondents of the SHGs members, by observations, survey, and data analysis, interpretation the key findings are noted below. Findings Most of the women`s of SHGs are beneficiaries through microfinance are middle age group of 25-30years. If we see the educational qualification of the respondents majority of were having matriculation and below. It shows that educated women`s are not concentrating on SHGs activities of microfinance empowering women`s. It is find that 94% of the respondents were married, it reveals that SHGs are looking for married womens empowerment their by it can develop their families. SHGs provide social activities services through Microfinance like savings and welfare activities and also training for small scale and tinny business. The majority of responded of women`s in SHGs are prefers Dharmasthala sangha and they were using funds for engaging in economic activity. The interest rates of Dharmasthala sangha and Swayam krishi Sangha is flat interest rate of loan amount, Shtri Shakthi Sangha and Mahila Swasahaya

Sangha is cut interest rate of loan, 78% of the respondents were agreed with the interest rate of the SHGs, because most of the money lenders charges high than SHGs. The SHGs provide weekly mode of repayment of loan, as the poor and peoples who are engaging in activities are getting their income in weekly. The women population is choosing SHGs microfinance more than going for banks, Due to lack of proper knowledge and family problem the womens were under utilizing the loan amount.
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Suggestions SHGs microfinance has to concentrate on unmarried womens empowerment also, as unmarried population is more and they will engage in economic activities and they are free to do business. It has to slightly reduce the interest rate on loan amounts. It has to increase the loan amount some more, as we know now a days all the rates and prices are costly the members cant go for business activities that small amount of loan. SHGs have to provide knowledge based training programmes which would help the members in their business. It has to guide the members in proper utilizing the loan amount. SGHs have to start group of entrepreneurship activities through providing more microfinance to the small scale business activities. Conclusion Traditionally women have been marginalized. A high percentage of women are among the poorest of the poor. Microfinance activities can give them a means to climb out of poverty. Microfinance could be a solution to help them to extend their horizon and offer them social recognition and empowerment. On the other hand, thank to women's capabilities to combine productive and reproductive roles in microfinance activities and society has enabled them to produce a greater impact as they will increase at the same time the quality of life of the women micro-entrepreneur and also of her family. Short-term assistance programmes might aim at increasing the productivity of women's labor by providing credit, technology, and skill training. Long-term objectives could emphasize eliminating institutional constraints which limit women's access to productive resources, creating social, technological, and economic mechanisms to reduce conflicts between women's productive and reproductive
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roles, as well as defining strategies to address traditional and legal barriers that hamper or preclude the active participation of women in the productive sectors of the economy. The key issue for successful micro finance program focused on women should consider them in a broader context, as a family nucleus, that is vital for societal improvement and progress. Following this idea, micro finance programmes should provide women with specific adapted products through appropriate methodologies, which can offer competitiveness to their business but also well being to them and their familie.

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QUESTIONNAIRE
DEAR Sir/Madam, I am vijay kumar .y MBA 4th semester Bonafide student of management studies & research Kuvempu University Shankaraghatta, as a part of the curriculum requirement for the award of degree in business administration I am pursuing research on THE ROLE OF MICRO FINANCE IN WOMEN EMPOWERMENT A CASE STUDY ON SHGS IN SHIVAMOGGA DISTRICT Under the guidance of Mrs. Sumathi , Faculty member in Institute of Management Studies, I kindly request you kindly take some time off your busy schedule and facilitate in filling up this questionnaire, further the information that is provided by you would be would be kept confidential and used for academic purpose only.

Vijay Kumar. Y Institute of Management Studies Kuvempu University Shankaraghatta, Shivamogga.

1. Name : 2. Address : 3. Age : 1.18-25 2.25-30 [ [ ] ] 3.35-40 [ ] ]

4.Above 40[

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4. Educational qualification: 1. Matriculation and below [ 2. Any degree [ ] ] 3. Pre-university [ 4. Other [ ] ]

5. Marital status: 1. Married [ 6. Income level: 1. Rs. 5000-15000 [ 2. Rs. 15000-25000 [ 7. Are you aware of microfinance? 1. Yes 8. Which SHGs do you aware of?
SLno. 1 2 3 4 Name of the SHGs Dharmasthala Sangha Swayam krishi Sangha Shtri Shakthi Sangha Mahila Swasahaya Sangha Yes No

2. Unmarried [

] ]

3. Rs. 25000-35000 4. Rs. 35000 above

[ [

] ]

2. No

9. Are you a member of SHG? 1. Yes 2. No

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10. For which SHGs you are the member?
SLno. 1 2 3 4 Name of the SHGs Dharmasthala Sangha Swayam krishi Sangha Shtri Shakthi Sangha Mahila Swasahaya Sangha Yes No

11. Do you have loan facilities in your SHG?


SLno. 1 2 3 4 Name of the SHGs provide loans Dharmasthala Sangha Swayam krishi Sangha Shtri Shakthi Sangha Mahila Swasahaya Sangha Yes No

12. For which purpose you are taking loan from MFIs 1. Starting tiny business [ 2. Purchasing durables [ ] ] 3. Carrying live stocks activity [ 4. Educating children [ ] ]

13. What is the rate of interest of MFIs? ____________________________________________________________

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14. I am comfortable with the interest rate of the loans given by the SHGs

Strongly agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

15. What are all the social activities undertaken by the SHGs for women empowerment?

SLno. Social activities

Dharmasthal a sangha

Swayam krishi sanga

Shtri

Mahila

shakthi swasahaya sanga Sangha

1 2 3 4

Education Training for Tinny business Training for Small scale business Savings and welfare activities

16. How much time they will take to provide loans?

SLno.

Name of the SHG`s

Within 1day

Within week

Within fort night

Within month

1 2 3 4

Dharmasthala Sangha Swayam krishi Sangha Shtri Shakthi Sangha Mahila Swasahaya Sangha

17. How frequently do you repay the loan taken by the SHGS?
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SL.no. Name of the SHGs Daily Weekly Fortnight Monthly

1 2 3 4

Dharmasthala Sangha Swayam krishi Sangha Shtri Shakthi Sangha


Mahila Sangha Swasahaya

18. The performance of Self help groups is better than banks and other institutions.

Strongly agree Agree

Neither Agree nor Disagree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

19. Will you use the loan amount for which purpose you borrowed? 1. Yes 2.No

20. If no what is the Reason behind the improper usage? 1. Poverty 2. Family problems 3. Lack of knowledge 4. Other------------

21. Micro finance is helping a lot in empowering the women

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neither Agree nor Disagree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

22. Any suggestion to the improvement of microfinance lending activities _____________________________________________________________________


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Thank you

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books Articles:
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o Women Empowerment Programs, S. Shiny Nair (Jun 30, 2009) o Women Empowerment & Social development Dr.Jelsy Joseph,(Jun 30, 2009) o Womens Empowerment Raghavendra Bhatt,(Mar 24, 2009) o Role Of Microfinance For Promoting Integrated Rural Development And Poverty Alleviation Raja Shekar Bhatt, Posted,(17, 2007) o Indian Women: Natural Potential to be an Entrepreneur PRIYA DADHICH (Sep 22, 2010) o Microfinance in India empowering women Rasheeda Bhagat (16 September 2009) o Overview of Microfinance for Women in India N. Kavitha (Sep 22, 2006) o The Impact of Microfinance in women empowerment Dweep Chanana(January 18, 2010) o Role of Microfinance in Women Empowerment Nava Ashraf,(May 30, 2009)

o Microfinance and Women's Empowerment Fehmeen Khan(on 15, Dec, 2007) Search engine:
www.microfinance.com www.EzineArticles.com www.SGHs.com

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